Kim et al., in a report now published in the Journal,1 describe the discovery, development, and administration of an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy specifically designed for a single patient with CLN7 neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (a form of Batten’s disease), a fatal genetic neurodegenerative disorder.2 In this patient, a known pathogenic point mutation was found to be present in one copy of the gene MFSD8 (also known as CLN7), and a previously undescribed insertion of a retrotransposon was present in the other copy. Retrotransposons are stretches of DNA that are sometimes described as mobile elements; thousands are present in the human genome, and some are capable of moving to a new location — such as the middle of a gene — through a “copy and paste” mechanism.
top of page
bottom of page